Article 1 Section 30 of the North Carolina Constitution states: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; and, as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they shall not be maintained, and the military shall be kept under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power. Nothing herein shall justify the practice of carrying a concealed weapons, or prevent the General Assembly from enacting penal statutes against that practice.”

As a retired police officer, and a conceal carry holder of 56 years, I am willing to give up my permit before I passively stand by and let the General Assembly violate their sworn duty to uphold the Constitution of our state.

It is ill-advised that 18-year-old kids be legally entitled to carry guns including concealed guns. Not only is it ill-advised it is unconstitutional. An amendment to the N.C. Constitution would be necessary. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail and bring a halt to HB69.

I am Demetrise Stephenson, a former Chapel Hill Law Enforcement Officer. I served 3 years until my career was shortened by a gun in the wrong hands of a student suffering from mental illness.

As an officer, intense training gave me the right and foresight to use a weapon for my own protection and the protection of others. I talked with officers who have had to draw their weapon and very few who have had to use them. They agree, training coupled with the mental anticipatory guidance is one of the reliable resources necessary.

I believe in the right to bear arms. Human life is what we should all desire to protect. I strongly oppose the Constitutional Carry Act, HB 69. It eliminates our life-saving concealed carry weapons permitting system, enabling 18-year-olds the right to carry a hidden loaded weapon in public without firearm carry concealed training. Dangerously, 18-year-olds are four times more likely to commit homicide than adults 21 years old or older.

I now work in public education. It is a place of many social exchanges where immature coping strategies led to the doorway of impulsivity.

In 2015 Mount St. Mary’s University compared non-trained carriers. Without training, “You get a person who’s unfamiliar and put a live weapon in their hand and expect them to be both competent and safe, you’re asking a lot of that person,” Kelly Veuden, Owner Criterion Tactical- firearms training center in San Antonio.

Please consider the permitting process. Be a citizen, live in NC for 30 days, 21 years old, no mental or physical condition that would interfere with safe handling of a firearm and lastly, complete firearm safety training, including practice fire handguns and learning about NC gun laws!

Thank you, Fayetteville Observer, for this great editorial. If you could, please go to the comment section on this article to thank them for opposing the dangerous Constitutional Carry bill, HB 69.

“Just what we needed in a state where gunfire and bloodshed are already too much a part of daily life. Now a state representative wants to dump the requirement for concealed-carry permits before residents can pack heat.”

We couldn’t agree more with Mr. Thomas, who is a concealed carry permit holder, about the idea of eliminating the training requirements that come along with getting a concealed carry weapons permit.

“Eliminating even those minimal requirements is a horrible idea. We require a license to drive a car, to dispense pharmaceuticals and to operate any number of businesses. We require permits to build simple additions on to our houses. How is it wise to allow anybody, without having to demonstrate any knowledge of how to handle a gun or of when it’s permissible to use deadly force, and without any vetting whatsoever, to be able to carry around a concealed, deadly weapon? The answer? Not very!”

“On the face of it, the bill [HB 69] would make North Carolinians less safe for two reasons.

“First, this bill does away with the eight-hour training class which now sets at least a minimum standard for educated gun ownership.

“Second, problems, potential or otherwise, would only show up only after the fact. In contrast, the current law requires fingerprinting and other identifying information to be taken at the outset, allowing for proactive screening.”

This is so tragic. “SALISBURY, N.C. (WBTV) – The newly released autopsy from the North Carolina Medical Examiner shows that a Salisbury girl sustained 20 gunshot wounds when she was shot and killed in her sleep.”

Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and community.

If you or someone you know knows of anything related to this murder, please call the Salisbury Police Department at 704-638-5333 or Crime Stoppers at 1-866-639-5245. “There is a $20,000 reward for anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest in her murder, as well as the other two Rowan County murders that night.”

Great editorial by the editorial board in the News & Observer. We couldn’t agree more! Email us at ncgv@ncgv.org to get involved in fighting bad bills like this one.

“A proposed bill from 10 Republicans in the General Assembly to remove North Carolina’s concealed-carry permit requirement for handguns has the odor of a gun-lobby sponsored maneuver. There’s no other way to say it: the idea is absurd, and dangerous. One hopes GOP leaders will stop this idea before it goes any further.”

“Becky Ceartas, Executive Director of North Carolinians Against Gun Violence says, ‘It does away with all training. So one could carry a hidden loaded gun in public with absolutely no classroom training and no live fire training. This puts the public in danger, law enforcement officials in danger.’

“And although supporters of HB 69 are calling it the ‘Constitutional Carry’ Bill, Ceartas says the permit process is respectful of the Constitution.

"’We don't feel this harms the second amendment in any way. We've had this permitting system in place. People are still allowed to carry guns both openly and concealed,’ Ceartas told ABC11.

“The photograph captured the National Rifle Association at one of the most influential moments in its 145-year history.

“On February 1, a day after Neil Gorsuch was nominated to the Supreme Court, President Donald Trump convened a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House to make an announcement. He was surrounded by a group of high-profile conservatives, but if proximity to the president indicated importance, then the NRA was at the top of the pecking order. Sitting next to Trump was the group’s executive vice president and public face, Wayne LaPierre.”